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Family Fun Fair emphasizes mental health
Shirts reading “Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.” reminded those at the MPCSD Family Fun Fair to slow down
MT. PLEASANT — Mt. Pleasant Community School District’s Counseling Office successfully equipped district families with many resources, especially those for mental health, as they hosted their second annual Family Fun Fair this year during spring parent teacher conferences.
Like last year’s fair, this one consisted of many fun family activities with a lean toward mental health education. One important partnership for MPCSD to disseminate such information came from the I’m Glad You Stayed Project out of Johnson County.
“The I’m Glad You Stayed Project is an organization out of the Iowa City and North Liberty area started by a mom and a friend of a young man who died by suicide,” Student and Family Advocate Martha Peterson explained. “They are a suicide prevention outreach sort of organization that does a lot of giveaways like bracelets and stuff at events like ours.”
I’m Glad You Stayed Project states that they strive to educate the public, especially teenagers, on real-time suicide prevention actions. In doing this they provide free resources like wristbands, stickers, and bad tags with the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline number on them, pamphlets on how to help struggling friends, and free QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer) training in person or via Zoom.
Part of the I’m Glad You Stayed educational information explains when to call 911 versus 988. According to the project, an individual should call 911 when someone is in immediate crisis.
“You know when someone is in immediate crisis when they are threatening to harm themselves or others,” I’m Glad You Stayed material states.
According to the project, 988 offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors for those in emotional distress.
“They provide additional support to the someone who just needs someone to listen and talk to, when they are not an active threat to themselves,” they explain.
The I’m Glad You Stayed project also encourages teens to know certain information about their friends so they can be helpful in moments of crisis. This information includes knowing their friends’ full names (first, middle, and last), addresses, birthdays, phone number, parents’ full names (first and last), and parents’ phone numbers.
Additionally, this group that attended the MPCSD Family Fun Fair encourages individuals to practice self-care such as the following to support themselves:
Ask for help/support.
Forgive yourself for mistakes; no one is perfect.
Ask for what you need.
Say “No” when you don’t feel comfortable or willing.
Take care of your physical health.
Set boundaries.
Take breaks.
Put your mental health first.
MPCSD’s Family Fun Fair team continued the message of suicide prevention and mental health support with their shirt choices for volunteers at the event.
Instead of shirts boasting school pride in maroon and gold, the team opted for shirts reminding others to “Inhale. Exhale. Repeat” the suicide prevention color, turquoise. Peterson says she saw the phrase in the window of a store, and the team wanted to put a message on the shirts to encourage anyone that might walk behind them.
In less obvious ways, the family fun fair promoted good health for the district families with activities to strengthen bonds, such as games, activities to encourage movement, such as spin bike spin art, and resource information, from the school and community.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com
